Greene Hall, the building adjacent to the east side of the Integrated Science Center and home of Geneseo's physics and chemistry departments, is open for the first time since 2007.
For the past two years, the physics and chemistry departments have joined the biology department in Bailey Hall. Kurt Fletcher, chair of the physics department, said he was enthusiastic about the building re-opening.
"The renovation of Greene Hall updates the laboratory and teaching spaces to enhance the way we teach science now," he said.
"Greene Hall was built back in 1970," said David Geiger, chair of the chemistry department. "It was appropriate for the '70s, but people do science differently now."
The general contractor behind the project, Christa Construction Corporation, was the same group that recently renovated Erie Hall. Renovations include new elevator finishes, new exterior windows and doors, restoration of the exterior masonry, the addition of extra roof drains and new fire detection systems.
The finish and appearance of all interior spaces within Greene Hall were designed to match those of the ISC, which was completed in 2006.
In addition to housing the physics and chemistry departments, Greene Hall will contain biology and shared labs. "There will be more opportunity for cross-disciplinary projects now," said Geiger.
Geiger also said he was excited about the amount of "collision space" in the hall. "There are student lounges right next to teachers' offices, so there will be plenty of interaction and opportunity for collaboration and working together," he said. "There is more space and so much more opportunity for students to get involved in research."
The completed building houses a Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectrometer as well as "a new particle accelerator, a new telescope, a new scanning probe microscope which can image individual atoms on surfaces, a new optics laboratory, a new engineering physics lab and spaces for students and faculty to work together," said Fletcher.
Over the weekend the physics department hosted a "Physicsfest" which invited Geneseo physics alumni, emeriti faculty, undergraduate majors and current faculty to tour the newly renovated building and share physics and planetarium presentations.
The chemistry department is planning a comparable celebration on Oct. 16 and 17.